The Women Who Built Glasgow City

Denied a pathway to football as children, The Women Who Built Glasgow City is the inspiring journey of Carol Anne Stewart and Laura Montgomery, the formidable duo who had a vision of creating opportunities for women and girls in Scotland. They founded Glasgow City FC in 1998 with aspirations to become a dominant force in Scottish football and a strong contender in Europe. They delivered, creating Scotland’s most successful women’s football team winning 13 League titles in succession and reaching the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter finals twice. Sustaining their legacy is the club’s thriving Academy, enabling girls to follow their footballing dreams.

Broadcast on BBC ALBA in 2020. Winner of the Royal Television Society Scotland award for best sport film.

Our critically acclaimed feature documentary Rose Reilly’provided an insight into the deep-rooted misogyny in football and society in 1970s Scotland that forced one remarkable woman to travel abroad to realise her dreams to play the game professionally. Back in Scotland, The Women Who Built Glasgow City picks up that story, delivering the next chapter, showcasing two incredible female role models in the process. This empowering narrative emulates the phenomenal level of success achieved by Rose Reilly, this time exploring the inspiring journey of Laura Montgomery and Carol Anne Stewart who rebelled against the patriarchal constraints still in play in 1990s Scottish women’s football by creating their own football club with the aim of making it the best in Scotland, and a strong contender in Europe.

Celebrating its 21^st birthday after its formation in 1998, Glasgow City FC is the most successful club in the country having recently secured its thirteenth domestic league title in succession. In 2014 the club became the first Scottish team (female or male) to progress to the quarter final stage of the prestigious Champions League. Remarkably, they repeated this feat in 2019. This amateur club now also boasts academy teams at U10, U12, U15 and U17 level, and a senior development squad (U23), sitting alongside its seemingly invincible first team. Hundreds of girls and women, from Scotland and throughout the world, have worn the City jersey and subsequently have been empowered by Laura and Carol Anne. No fewer than 11 of the SWNT who played in the 2019 World Cup have either played for or were still playing for City.

Whilst the club’s success is part of the story, The Women Who Built Glasgow City is primarily an insight into the lives of the two witty, intelligent, empowering women behind its birth and development, examining the inherent characteristics that enable them to deliver on their ambitions, overcoming persistent and extensive hurdles in the process.

TWBGC features interviews with Laura Montgomery and Carol Anne Stewart, Laura’s parents Maureen and John, and her brother Derek; Cas’s mum, Anne and Cas’s partner Louise Duncan; former players / managers Kath O’Donnell, Sheila Begbie, Nikki Kuyt, Sharon Martin, Ger Watson, Peter Caulfield, Leanne Ross, Suzanne Lappin, Leanne Crichton, Scott Booth and Professor Karen Boyle.

Writer / Producer / Director: Margot McCuaig

Filmed: Gavin Hopkins

Editor: Kenny Park

Narrator: Alex O’Henley